Cable connecter



Oct. 4. 1927.

G. C. THOMAS, JR

CABLE CONNECTER Filed July 11. 1925 INVENTOR George C mamas fr TTORNEY5Patented Oct. 4, 1927.

UNITED. STATES PATENT owes-f GEORGE THOMAS. 9 EPIZABETE, NEW teasesASSIGNOB'TQ m m ms e BETTS 0F E Iee Eee New mew 4 QQeeQ e 'QN-QF ewCABLE CQNNEGTER.

Application filed July 11, 1925;v Serial No. 42,888.

This invention relates to improved cable connecters for fastening acable in an electrical fixture box.

An object of the inventionis to produce a 5 connecter which is partiallysevered longitudinally to permit the armored cable entry orreceiving-end to expand and anchor 1tseliiina box hole, while the otherend, the end which remains, normalin size, carries a full. one-piececontinuous circular wire bushing.

My connecter is improved in respect to a full type bushing which iscarried at the hinged ends of a number of expansible sleeve portions orsections and which bush.-

ing acts as a stop against which the QIIHQL" ot'the cable rests andthrough which the in sulated cable wires pass, and said fullftypebushing is made in combination with a split sleeve integrally formed andpivotal upon and at the full: type circular bushing. Furthermore, myimprovements enable. the connecter toqbe made fromi'a single pieceotsheet metal despite the fact that the, sleeve is split to make itexpansible at one end and despite thlrfii'tct that a fulluncut,unbroken, g unsplit' circularqbrus'hing is integrally formed 7 with "thesplit sleeve.

Split sleeve connecters are well kown in the art and so are bushingswhich. are also split, but I combine a split sleeve with an;

expands and effectively looks or anchors,

itself" in a' box hole,

Simplicity in-one piecestructure, economy 7 inpr'oduction, and a sin,2;leI operating means for simultaneously fastening a cable in theconnecter and? anchoring the con-necte-r in? a:

box are accomplished in this improved connecter. V i t The accompanyingdrawing illustrates a preferred; form of the invention wherein;

Figure 1 shows a top VlQW of an ordinary.-

electric outlet fixture box in fragmentary section and in which the comecter'ismsert:

ed prior to being expanded therein to 4 11611 mm the. box, andthis viewshows the sleeve connecter'in longitudinal section. 5

Figure shows an outside end-view of the cp ecter 111 a box as'taken onthe. section. l1nej2r2 thereby showing a. connects} and cablefanchoredin position. 0 'F1gure"3 shows an assembly view in m- U011. astakenxonthe line. 3- 3of Figure: 2.'

Figure %1 shows a modified iiornlf of. the cableconnecter by which theclamping SQIW. may bemounted on the outside of the-box instead of on theinside thereotj- Figuresb and6 show side and front: end giewls of theconnecter removed from the. OX- 1 1 Electric Wiring installation workordinarily requires electrical fixture boxes Bordinarily havingknockouts thus providing box holesH into whichfia' connecter and'aicable C are inserted, and. it isan object toprodnce. an inexpensive typeof a Single. piece sheet metal connecter. which. may-iii desired havefasinglev operating. means to carry out the. expanding of a. connecter.in, V the; box h e an lamping a cabl 'in he connecte i with= the wiresiV-f'romthe 21.111101 0 o theicable passing through e con ec en totheinsideofthebox I The connector embodies a full and come plete fcircular bushing 1Q made integrally at on end wo or m e para11 1 a nroundsleevesections' 1-1 and, 12. A slot 13- cuts through. the front.end ofthe sleeve,

butstops. short of the rear endthereoifto leavesuflicient stock at thebushing 10-, by- Y whichtheconnecter parts 11 and 12 rei'na n 9 intact.In fact two pa sallel oppositely dis; posed longitudinal slots 13 extendthrough and from thefront end 1 1 of the-connecter Q back to the full-typebushing-10where the; slots 13 stop before cutting too fat into therear end of the-connecter-although the slots may cut slightly intothe-bushing-but terminate short of reaching too taxi therearound wherewraw edge of the slot WOllldicubfind damage the rubber insulation ont-hewires 1 passing therethrough. The result of -this arrrange'ment is toform bendingZoneSQjatthe; rearend oftheconnecter adjacent on in thebushing 10 whereby the two half slee ve secapart at, the front end 14.

tions 11 andi12may easily expand 01; move;

all)

The front expansible end 1 1 of the connecter is provided with suitablemeans, such as a groove 16, for anchoring the connecter in the box holeH when the parts 11 and 12 are expanded. This groove registers with therim of the box hole H and securely anchors the connecter in the box. Anyother suitrble means may be adapted as anchorage means.

Clamp means such as a screw 15 is mounted in one of the sections 11 or12 and is adapted to screw down against the armor of the cable whichcauses the sections 11 and 12 to expand thereby tightly bringing thegrooves 16 or other means outwardly against the box edge H and at thesame time the screw anchors the cable G in the connecter sleeve becausethe screw bears down on the cable G.

The modified form of connecter shown in Figure at similarly consists ofsleeve sections 20 and 21 separated by splits 23 with a bushing 22similar to that already described,

"and the splits enable the parts 20 and 21 to be forced apart orexpanded by a simultaneously acting cable clamp and sleeve expandingmeans, as the screw 25. A bending zone 28 exists at the end of eachsplit 23 by which the two sleeve sections remain integrally and hingedlyintact.

An extension piece is made on the outer end of the expansible sleeveparts 20 or 21 and the screw 25 is carried in this extension. The screw25 is adapted to bear against a cablewhen inserted in the connecter andthe screw acts to simultaneously anchor the cable in the connecter andexpand the connecter groove 26 against the'box wall H. Anadditionalscrew hole 27 may be made in the connecter-sleeve so that the screw 25may for convenience be used either insideor outside the box B.

The cable clamp and connecter expanding screw '25 performs severaluseful functions, not only in the form of the invention shown in thefirst figures, but in the modified structure shown in Figure 41 as well.However, the screw 25 inFigure a may be used either outside the box orplaced in the screw hole 27 within the box, and in either case the screwfunctions to expand the connecter and lock it in the box hole H andsimultaneously anchor the cable in the-sleeve.

The assembly view Figure 3 shows the end of the armor Cof the cableresting directly against the cable stop bushing 10 with the rubberinsulation. covered wires WV passing through the round oval aperturedefined by the full circulation bushing 10. The armor C of the cable isin no way damaged by the splits 13 or 22 which separates. the sleeve inspreading sections, but the splits are terminated prior to reaching theround oval aperture formed through the bushing in order that no damageoccur to the wires the sleeve connecter but simultaneously ex pands theconnecter half-sections until the anchoring groove becomes elfectiveagalnst the rim of the box hole 11. The connecter s fashioned eitherfrom a tube or. flat stock material having a bendmg zone 15 embraced ator within the area of the bushing 10 enmade of sheet metal and may bedrawn or abling the half-sections to readily spread apart under force ofthe screw.

lVhat I claim is: l 7 1. A cable connecter comprising a sleeve with anopen end to receive cable and arestricted end to stop the-cable armor,said sleeve provided with slits which extend through the cable receivingend but which terminate short'of cutting through-the restricted end ofthe sleeve, said slits being provided to partially separate the sleeveinto parts which expand at one end and which remains normal in size atthe other end thereof, a malleable metal bending zone formed at the endof the slit terminating at loo the normal size end of the sleeve whichenables the other end to expand, connecter anchorage means carried onthe expansibleend by which the sleeve is anchored in a box, and meanscarried by the connecter adapted to clamp against a cable inserted inthe sleeve and adapted to simultaneously expand the expansible end ofthe connecter thereby making operative the connecter and. box anchoragemeans in a box hole. a

2. A cable connecter comprising asleeve, said sleeve provided with twooppositelydisposed parallel slits cutting the sleeve longitudinally intotwo separable expansiblesections left connected together at one end by abending zone, said slits cutting through one end of the sleeve butterminating short of cutting through the other end of the sleevethereby'forming a bending zone of metal as aforesaid and thereby leavingthe sections connected as aforesaid, a full circular-wire bushingfashioned into the sleeve at the bending zone end to protect insulatedwiring drawn through the bushing, connecter anchorage means carried onthe sleeve, and clamp means carried by the sleeve to anchor cabletherein and to simultaneously expand the end of the sleeve carrying theconnecter anchorage means. 1

sleeve portions, and a screw carried by the sleeve to simultaneouslyexpand the movable connecter portions to anchor a cable in the sleeve. 3r

4. A cable connecter for anchoring cable in a box comprising, parallelhalf-round parts composing a'cable receivin sleeve, a full circular wirebushing integra ly formed at one end of thehalf-round parts joining allparts together in a one-piece sleeve struc- ;ure, the bushing acting toconstrain one end of the sleeve to normal size and permitting the otherend of the sleeve to expand, a connecter and box anchorage means formedin the movable ends of the sleeve parts, an extension made on one ofthesleeve parts, said sleeve part provided with a screw hole in theextension and with a screw hole on the other side of the anchoragegroove opposite the first named-screw hole, and a screw adapted for usein either screw hole. I V

5. A cable connecter for anchoring cable in a box comprising, parallelparts composing a connecter member, a full circular wire bushingintegrally formed at one end of the member joining all parts together ina one piece structure, the bushing acting to constrain one end of themember to normal size and permitting the other end of the member toexpand, a connecter and box anchorage groove formed in the expansibleends of the parts, an extension made on one of the parts, said memberbeing providedwith a screw hole in the extension, and a screw mounted inthe screw hole.

6. A connecter comprisin a member fash ioned from a sheet metal blankand including a full-fashioned uncut circular wire bushing of fixed sizeat one end of the member, a number of normally parallel portions formedintegral at one end thereof with the bushing which leaves their otherends expansibly free, box hole edge anchorage means carried on theexpansible ends of the portions, and clamp means carried with theconnecter to grip a cable and slmultaneously expand the anchorage means.I

In testimony whereof I affix 111 signature.

- GEORGE o. THO AS, JR.

